Page 129 of Their Courtesan
Chapter 33
SETH
“Thank you for coming,” Seth said, meeting Judith in the lobby of their hotel in New York. “I wasn’t sure you still would.”
He did not readily exhibit his shame over behaving in such a crude way at the wedding a week ago, but he did hope his somber tone conveyed how sorry he really was.I’m sorry, Judith. I’m really fucking sorry. You’ve got to believe how sorry I am. I am a sorry man of epically sorry proportions.Sheesh. Those didn’t even sound good in his head.
Judith didn’t smile, hug, or kiss him on the cheek. She rolled one suitcase behind her and tucked a cloth bag over her shoulder. “Like I would miss this.” He couldn’t tell if that was sarcasm or not.
“If you want, I could get you your own room. I don’t think they’re fully booked here.” It was one of the nicer hotels in the area, but it was far enough away from the Independence Day action to keep some vacancies. “I had originally planned to share one.”
Judith snorted. “Of course you did. You do love your bed cuddles and pillow talk.”
Seth paled.
A smile cracked on Judith’s face. Laughing, she said, “What? Did I insult your masculinity or something? Please. Manage to not piss me off today and I’ll do whatever you want later.” She hoisted her cloth bag again. “Now come on! I need to dump this shit somewhere, and you need to make some things up to me.”
Seth was betwixt relief and unease as he followed Judith to the nearest elevator.
For a whole week he had been beside himself with regret. Ever since punching Miguel out in what was perhaps the dumbest act of testosterone he had ever indulged in, Seth became convinced that Judith hated him.
If losing out the silent auction was bad enough… losing her entirely would have broken his heart, perhaps irreparably.
The only time he contacted the Château was to ask if Judith was still coming to New York with him. Monica told him that Judith had not changed her mind about that, but two thingshadchanged: one, Seth would pay for a First Class airline ticket on a separate plane, and two, Judith required a higher appearance fee for the gallery. Whether that was actually Monica’s stipulation and not Judith’s remained to be seen.
So Seth flew up on his own and arrived two hours earlier, checking into his – their – hotel room and set to wait for Judith’s arrival from JFK. Naturally, he had intended for this to be a pleasure weekend as well as a business one. The gallery opened on Sunday and Judith didn’t have to be back until Tuesday, giving them three nights together.To think I had been so excited. I’m such a fucking idiot.Judith was right all along.
Except she said she would share a room with him. Seth would pay handsomely for this weekend, but he considered it not only worth it, but his best opportunity to properly apologize to Judith for his behavior at the wedding.
He led her to their suite. It wasn’t Presidential or even Royal, but it was up to her standards as she inspected both the king-sized bed and the claw foot tub in the bathroom. Judith was already looking through the room service menus.
Whatever she wanted. Seth would have said that already, but it was especially true today. “I was thinking we could have dinner at the restaurant across the street,” he said. “I’ve ate there before. Good Thai food.”
She still smiled at him, although Seth had a feeling that some of her usual warmth was missing. “Sounds good. I don’t mind Thai.”
Dinner was delicious, and Judith made no allusions to what had happened. She probably wanted to put it all behind her, and Seth was on board with that. So as soon as dinner was over, he walked with her hand-in-hand to a local movie theater and treated her to whatever she wanted to see. He… was not counting on a French art-house film about clowns.I’m being punished.Fair enough.
Later that night, when Judith had showered and Seth had deduced that there was nothing on TV to watch, they ordered some room service and went over the following day’s itinerary. He was treating Judith to a mini-shopping spree and day at a fabulous hair and makeup salon to get her ready for her re-debut as a model. He, meanwhile, would be spending most of his day at the gallery, helping Joy finish setting up and practicing his opening speech.
“Fun fact,” Judith said as Seth put his binder away. “You were the last man I had sex with. At the wedding.” So, shewasgoing to bring it up? “It’s been a whole week since I last had sex of any kind. I haven’t gone this long since I had pneumonia in 2012.” She put her finger on his nose. “Don’t worry. I’m not contagious anymore.”
“Well… that’s good.”
“So what should we do tonight?” Judith climbed up on the bed, revealing that she wore nothing but her own skin beneath her hotel bathrobe. “I could blow you. Or I could let you blow me. How about you lay back, relax, and let me do every bit of work? You’re a hardworking guy, Seth…” Her finger dropped down and grazed his chest. “You need someone to help you stay relaxed.”
He looked askance at her. This was the first time in weeks she had been so candid about their arrangement. Usually they started having sex and he was subsequently charged for whatever Judith felt like charging him for. Sometimes she charged for everything. Other times she let certain things slide, like head or a second round of sex.
Tonight was different. Everything was different since the wedding.
“You should probably pace yourself this weekend, though. Otherwise you’ll blow all your cash on me before you can replenish it. Give me a monetary cap for each night we’re together. Or don’t. That works out better for me, I’m sure.”
Seth had no idea what to say. He couldn’t put a cap on being with Judith anymore. He would empty his bank account if she asked him to! “I want to be with you, Judith. Assuming you’ll have me.”
“Honey, I’ll have you every which way to Thursday if that’s what you want. Pegging costs five grand, though. Just so you know.”
“That’s not what I had in mind.”
“Need some direction?” She opened her robe. Yup. Totally naked. “How about this: we start with me blowing your little friend until he pops in my throat. Then, if you still feel like going, you do whatever you want to get me wet and we have sex in whatever position strikes your fancy. I’ll charge you the same regardless. So, all that will run you about ten grand. I’m giving you a discount because you’re a friend. Think of it as a Benefits Package.”
